You are all the most beautiful and inspiring ladies ever. Who knew weddings could look so fun? Kristen & Al, I've already gushed over you two, but ooooooh that cake looks yummy, Al! And how cute is your little flower girl, K? Adorable.Bethan, the carousel idea is so sweet! Looks like a nice wedding.Poppy, love those photo's, I kind of wish I'd have a Jewish wedding...Maggie, the dress and the location are breathtaking! Lovely. Who knew the Canadian parliament looks like a fairy castle?Dina, private it says! Lex, whosa, I will have to write those things down! The idea for Roo is lovely though... Love it!Cat, so cute! You two look so in love and so young... afraid my wedding pics won't be that cute.

Thanks for starting this thread, Ottilie! I've been a little disheartened by wedding planning, but I'm finding all of the pictures and stories here sort of encouraging. We were supposed to get married in June, but the bottom sort of fell out of our finances. I had been planning for months and was fairly devastated when we had to postpone. We were planning on having it at the boat club where my mom has a slip. We were going to have people camp and play in the water all weekend. We were planning on having a catered picnic (little boxed lunches from the local bakery) after the ceremony.And my fiance had already gotten the circuit court judge to perform the ceremony and bartered legal services for the photography. But alas. It wasn't meant to be.

I think one of the hardest things about planning a wedding is handling all the demands from friends and family. I know that when I heard horror stories about demanding mothers or bridesmaids before I started the planning process, I thought, "Well my family is nothing like that!" Boy, was I wrong. If I asked any advice or gave a hint of what I was planning, they were all over me with "helpful" "suggestions." I was taken aback by their insistence that they offer their opinions on every detail of my wedding. My mother always prefaces her advice with, "Well it's your wedding, do whatever you want to do, but..."

Our new date is October 5, but my heart just isn't in the planning. I'm not sure I can go through that whole process again. I keep threatening to elope, but I think our mothers would kill us.

ottilie I'm probably the opposite from what you want. We felt that we had guests coming from multiple countries on three continents, and from all over the US, and wanted to honor their commitment by giving them a proportionately nice evening. It was a black tie sort of thing. We married in a cathedral with 5 clergy, had a cocktail hour under the stars on MiamiBeach, and then formal dinner/wild dancing in the ballroom with these incredible 40-foot tall windows.

I like bright colors so used turquoise, teal, lime, black & aquamarine with fuschia/orange accents. Since we married in the tropics I wanted to reflect that. I went to Mood Fabrics in NY and bought the raw silk for the table linens myself.

@Ottilie, what are the details that you do have planned? Colors? Size of the bridal party?

@Rosey, I totally hear you. I thought my family would never cause that dreaded wedding stress. But wow. It was mostly on the in-law side. My sisters are my heart so they can get away with being mouthy to me and I just get mouthy back. But how do I politely tell my mother-in-law that THESE ARE THE FLOWERS I WANT AND THIS IS THE CAKE I WANT AND YOU GOT TO PLAN YOUR WEDDING AND I'M SORRY YOU THINK THIS IS ALL HIDEOUS BUT IT WILL NOT BE THE END OF THE WORLD.

Changing wedding seasons is also a downer, so I can see how that could affect your enthusiasm. My wedding was supposed to be a January winter night wedding. All of my plans were for a gorgeous, sparkling winter wedding! My accident pushed it back three months (I was healed in time, but working through PTSD), so it became a spring wedding. I HATE spring. I think spring is hideous. But it ended up being just perfect (and it ended up being on my grandparents' 56th wedding anniversary, so we had a really cool song and cake presentation for them at the reception!). I think that as your date approaches, you will start to get exited again. Weddings should not be stressful. This is a celebration of YOU AND HIM. A celebration. A party. How would you most like to celebrate? What is your ideal party? What would be the most fun for you? Maybe all the trappings of these traditional, over-priced weddings aren't your cup of tea. Maybe you prefer something completely off the wall. Think outside the box. You're celebrating the BEST thing that ever happened to you, so do it your way, not anyone else's way.